Biography

Leghe Suthers - 1855 - 1924

John Lees, or 'Leghe', Suthers was born in Oldham, Greater Manchester, on 26 April 1855. Very little is known about his early life, but it is assumed that he spent his formative years around Southport in Lancashire, where he is known to have lived before moving to Newlyn. Both Henry Meynell Rheam and William Banks Fortescue also had connections with that area.

Suthers studied at Verlat’s Academy in Antwerp and was great friends with Fred Hall and Frank Bramley, who also studied there. Later, he met Stanhope Forbes in Brittany. He went to paint in Venice, and Venetian subjects dominated his early works shown at the Royal Academy.

An early visitor to Newlyn, staying for some months in 1883, Suthers continued to use his Southport address for his Royal Academy submissions until 1893 (having first exhibited there in 1885). It is difficult to determine when he settled in Newlyn, particularly as he was often away from the village, but he was a keen advocate of the 'square brush' technique and seems to have been an integral member of the colony.